U.S. patent application number 14/700033 was filed with the patent office on 2016-11-03 for bng subscribers inter-chassis redundancy using mc-lag.
The applicant listed for this patent is Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ). Invention is credited to Juan Lu, Satyanarayana Madem, Sunny Wang.
Application Number | 20160323179 14/700033 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57205813 |
Filed Date | 2016-11-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160323179 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Sunny ; et
al. |
November 3, 2016 |
BNG SUBSCRIBERS INTER-CHASSIS REDUNDANCY USING MC-LAG
Abstract
Exemplary methods in a first network device of an inter-chassis
redundancy (ICR) system communicatively coupled to a second network
device of the ICR system, the first network device configured as an
active ICR device communicatively coupled to a third network device
via a first link and a third link, the second network device
configured as a standby ICR device, wherein the first link and the
second link belong to a first multi-chassis link aggregation group
(MC-LAG), include negotiating with a first client device to create
a first session that is carried over the first link of the first
MC-LAG, determining whether the first session is stateful, wherein
a session is stateful if it is carried over an MC-LAG, and in
response to determining the first session is stateful, sending
session information associated with the first session to the second
network device.
Inventors: |
Wang; Sunny; (Saratoga,
CA) ; Madem; Satyanarayana; (San Jose, CA) ;
Lu; Juan; (Sunnyvale, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) |
Stockholm |
|
SE |
|
|
Family ID: |
57205813 |
Appl. No.: |
14/700033 |
Filed: |
April 29, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/141 20130101;
H04L 67/2833 20130101; H04L 45/28 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 12/703 20060101
H04L012/703; H04L 29/08 20060101 H04L029/08 |
Claims
1. A method in a first network device of an inter-chassis
redundancy (ICR) system that is communicatively coupled to a second
network device of the ICR system, wherein the first network device
configured to serve as an active ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to a third network device via a first link
and a third link, and wherein the second network device configured
to serve as a standby ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to the third network device via a second
link, wherein the first link and the second link belong to a first
multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein the
third network device is communicatively coupled to a plurality of
client devices, the method comprising: negotiating with a first
client device of the plurality of client devices to create a first
session that is carried over the first link associated with the
first MC-LAG; determining whether the first session is stateful,
wherein a session is stateful if it is carried over an MC-LAG; and
in response to determining the first session is stateful, sending
session information associated with the first session to the second
network device, causing the second network device to use the
session information to create a standby session corresponding to
the first session.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: negotiating with a
second client device of the plurality of client devices to create a
second session that is carried over the third link; and in response
to determining the second session is not stateful, using the second
session to carry traffic without sending session information
associated with the second session to the second network
device.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting a failure
that prevents the first session to carry traffic over the first
link of the first MC-LAG; and in response to detecting the failure,
performing an ICR switchover by: transitioning to serving as the
standby ICR device of the ICR system, and sending a notification of
the ICR switchover to the second network device, causing the second
network device to transition to serving as the active ICR device of
the ICR system, and further causing the second network device to
activate the standby session and use the activated session to carry
traffic without having to negotiate with the first client
device.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the session information
associated with the first session to the second network device
comprises: storing the session information associated with the
first session in a distributed database system (DDS), wherein the
DDS is configured to provide an indication, wherein the indication
comprises of at least one of an indication that the session
information has been sent to a peer ICR device, an indication that
the session information has been received by a DDS at the peer ICR
device, and an indication that the session information has been
sent by the DDS at the peer device to a session daemon at the peer
ICR device.
5. A first network device of an inter-chassis redundancy (ICR)
system that is communicatively coupled to a second network device
of the ICR system, wherein the first network device configured to
serve as an active ICR device of the ICR system is communicatively
coupled to a third network device via a first link and a third
link, and wherein the second network device configured to serve as
a standby ICR device of the ICR system is communicatively coupled
to the third network device via a second link, wherein the first
link and the second link belong to a first multi-chassis link
aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein the third network device is
communicatively coupled to a plurality of client devices, the first
network device comprising: a set of one or more processors; and a
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium containing code,
which when executed by the set of one or more processors, causes
the first network device to: negotiate with a first client device
of the plurality of client devices to create a first session that
is carried over the first link associated with the first MC-LAG,
determine whether the first session is stateful, wherein a session
is stateful if it is carried over an MC-LAG, and in response to
determining the first session is stateful, send session information
associated with the first session to the second network device,
causing the second network device to use the session information to
create a standby session corresponding to the first session.
6. The first network device of claim 5, wherein the non-transitory
machine-readable storage medium further contains code, which when
executed by the set of one or more processors, causes the first
network device to: negotiate with a second client device of the
plurality of client devices to create a second session that is
carried over the third link; and in response to determining the
second session is not stateful, use the second session to carry
traffic without sending session information associated with the
second session to the second network device.
7. The first network device of claim 5, wherein the non-transitory
machine-readable storage medium further contains code, which when
executed by the set of one or more processors, causes the first
network device to: detect a failure that prevents the first session
to carry traffic over the first link of the first MC-LAG; and in
response to detecting the failure, perform an ICR switchover by:
transitioning to serving as the standby ICR device of the ICR
system, and sending a notification of the ICR switchover to the
second network device, causing the second network device to
transition to serving as the active ICR device of the ICR system,
and further causing the second network device to activate the
standby session and use the activated session to carry traffic
without having to negotiate with the first client device.
8. The first network device of claim 5, wherein sending the session
information associated with the first session to the second network
device comprises: storing the session information associated with
the first session in a distributed database system (DDS), wherein
the DDS is configured to provide an indication, wherein the
indication comprises of at least one of an indication that the
session information has been sent to a peer ICR device, an
indication that the session information has been received by a DDS
at the peer ICR device, and an indication that the session
information has been sent by the DDS at the peer device to a
session daemon at the peer ICR device.
9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having computer
code stored therein, which when executed by a set of one or more
processors of a first network device of an inter-chassis redundancy
(ICR) system that is communicatively coupled to a second network
device of the ICR system, wherein the first network device
configured to serve as an active ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to a third network device via a first link
and a third link, and wherein the second network device configured
to serve as a standby ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to the third network device via a second
link, wherein the first link and the second link belong to a first
multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein the
third network device is communicatively coupled to a plurality of
client devices, causes the first network device to perform
operations comprising: negotiating with a first client device of
the plurality of client devices to create a first session that is
carried over the first link associated with the first MC-LAG;
determining whether the first session is stateful, wherein a
session is stateful if it is carried over an MC-LAG; and in
response to determining the first session is stateful, sending
session information associated with the first session to the second
network device, causing the second network device to use the
session information to create a standby session corresponding to
the first session.
10. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9,
further comprising: negotiating with a second client device of the
plurality of client devices to create a second session that is
carried over the third link; and in response to determining the
second session is not stateful, using the second session to carry
traffic without sending session information associated with the
second session to the second network device.
11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9,
further comprising: detecting a failure that prevents the first
session to carry traffic over the first link of the first MC-LAG;
and in response to detecting the failure, performing an ICR
switchover by: transitioning to serving as the standby ICR device
of the ICR system, and sending a notification of the ICR switchover
to the second network device, causing the second network device to
transition to serving as the active ICR device of the ICR system,
and further causing the second network device to activate the
standby session and use the activated session to carry traffic
without having to negotiate with the first client device.
12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9,
wherein sending the session information associated with the first
session to the second network device comprises: storing the session
information associated with the first session in a distributed
database system (DDS), wherein the DDS is configured to provide an
indication, wherein the indication comprises of at least one of an
indication that the session information has been sent to a peer ICR
device, an indication that the session information has been
received by a DDS at the peer ICR device, and an indication that
the session information has been sent by the DDS at the peer device
to a session daemon at the peer ICR device.
13. A method in a first network device of an inter-chassis
redundancy (ICR) system that is communicatively coupled to a second
network device of the ICR system, wherein the first network device
configured to serve as a standby ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to a third network device via a second
link, and wherein the second network device configured to serve as
an active ICR device of the ICR system is communicatively coupled
to the third network device via a first link, wherein the first
link and the second link belong to a first multi-chassis link
aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein the third network device is
communicatively coupled to a plurality of client devices, the
method comprising: receiving from the second network device session
information associated with a first session, wherein the first
session is used by the second network device for exchanging traffic
with a first client device of the plurality of client devices; and
using the received session information to create a standby session
corresponding to the first session.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving a
notification from the second network device indicating the second
network device has performed an ICR switchover; and in response to
receiving the notification, performing an ICR switch over by:
transitioning to serving as the active ICR device of the ICR
system, activating the standby session, and using the activated
standby session to carry traffic without having to negotiate with
the first client device.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: storing the
received session information associated with the first session in a
distributed database system (DDS), wherein the DDS is configured to
provide an indication, wherein the indication comprises of at least
one of an indication that the session information has been received
and an indication that session information has been sent to a
session daemon at the first network device.
16. A first network device of an inter-chassis redundancy (ICR)
system that is communicatively coupled to a second network device
of the ICR system, wherein the first network device configured to
serve as a standby ICR device of the ICR system is communicatively
coupled to a third network device via a second link, and wherein
the second network device configured to serve as an active ICR
device of the ICR system is communicatively coupled to the third
network device via a first link, wherein the first link and the
second link belong to a first multi-chassis link aggregation group
(MC-LAG), and wherein the third network device is communicatively
coupled to a plurality of client devices, the first network device
comprising: a set of one or more processors; and a non-transitory
machine-readable storage medium containing code, which when
executed by the set of one or more processors, causes the first
network device to: receive from the second network device session
information associated with a first session, wherein the first
session is used by the second network device for exchanging traffic
with a first client device of the plurality of client devices, and
use the received session information to create a standby session
corresponding to the first session.
17. The first network device of claim 16, wherein the
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further contains
code, which when executed by the set of one or more processors,
causes the first network device to: receive a notification from the
second network device indicating the second network device has
performed an ICR switchover; and in response to receiving the
notification, perform an ICR switch over by: transitioning to
serving as the active ICR device of the ICR system, activating the
standby session, and using the activated standby session to carry
traffic without having to negotiate with the first client
device.
18. The first network device of claim 16, wherein the
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further contains
code, which when executed by the set of one or more processors,
causes the first network device to: store the received session
information associated with the first session in a distributed
database system (DDS), wherein the DDS is configured to provide an
indication, wherein the indication comprises of at least one of an
indication that the session information has been received and an
indication that session information has been sent to a session
daemon at the first network device.
19. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having
computer code stored therein, which when executed by a set of one
or more processors of a first network device of an inter-chassis
redundancy (ICR) system that is communicatively coupled to a second
network device of the ICR system, wherein the first network device
configured to serve as a standby ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to a third network device via a second
link, and wherein the second network device configured to serve as
an active ICR device of the ICR system is communicatively coupled
to the third network device via a first link, wherein the first
link and the second link belong to a first multi-chassis link
aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein the third network device is
communicatively coupled to a plurality of client devices, causes
the first network device to perform operations comprising:
receiving from the second network device session information
associated with a first session, wherein the first session is used
by the second network device for exchanging traffic with a first
client device of the plurality of client devices; and using the
received session information to create a standby session
corresponding to the first session.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19,
further comprising: receiving a notification from the second
network device indicating the second network device has performed
an ICR switchover; and in response to receiving the notification,
performing an ICR switch over by: transitioning to serving as the
active ICR device of the ICR system, activating the standby
session, and using the activated standby session to carry traffic
without having to negotiate with the first client device.
21. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19,
further comprising: storing the received session information
associated with the first session in a distributed database system
(DDS), wherein the DDS is configured to provide an indication,
wherein the indication comprises of at least one of an indication
that the session information has been received and an indication
that session information has been sent to a session daemon at the
first network device.
Description
FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of packet
networks, and more specifically, to inter-chassis redundancy (ICR)
using multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG).
BACKGROUND
[0002] In communication networks, it is generally desirable to
prevent service outages and/or loss of network traffic. By way of
example, such service outages and/or loss of network traffic may
occur when a network device fails, loses power, is taken offline,
is rebooted, a communication link to the network device breaks,
etc. In order to prevent such service outages and/or loss of
network traffic, the communication networks may utilize
inter-chassis redundancy (ICR). In an ICR system, there are
typically two ICR devices (i.e., nodes). During normal operation,
one ICR device is configured to be in active state while the other
is configured to be in standby state. The active ICR device is
responsible for handling network traffic with a plurality other
network devices. When a failure is detected, the ICR devices switch
roles, and the standby ICR device becomes the active ICR device,
and takes over the responsibility of handling network traffic.
[0003] In order to reduce the switchover time, session information
of existing subscriber sessions must be synced from the active ICR
device to the standby ICR device. A conventional system for
managing subscriber sessions (such as the virtual subscriber
management system described in the patent application
EP20110004989, which is hereby incorporated by reference) includes
one control and management virtual chassis that manages subscriber
sessions in two physical chassis. Such a conventional architecture
results in several drawbacks. For example, since the conventional
architecture uses one virtual chassis, it needs to maintain all
subscriber session information in the virtual system on both
physical chassis. As a result, the conventional architecture cannot
support both subscribers that require stateful ICR protection and
subscribers that do not require the expensive ICR protection at the
same time. Further, the conventional architecture does not
support/work with MC-LAG.
SUMMARY
[0004] Exemplary methods performed by a first network device of an
inter-chassis redundancy (ICR) system that is communicatively
coupled to a second network device of the ICR system, wherein the
first network device configured to serve as an active ICR device of
the ICR system is communicatively coupled to a third network device
via a first link and a third link, and wherein the second network
device configured to serve as a standby ICR device of the ICR
system is communicatively coupled to the third network device via a
second link, wherein the first link and the second link belong to a
first multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein
the third network device is communicatively coupled to a plurality
of client devices, include negotiating with a first client device
of the plurality of client devices to create a first session that
is carried over the first link associated with the first MC-LAG.
The methods further include determining whether the first session
is stateful, wherein a session is stateful if it is carried over an
MC-LAG, and in response to determining the first session is
stateful, sending session information associated with the first
session to the second network device, causing the second network
device to use the session information to create a standby session
corresponding to the first session.
[0005] In one embodiment, the methods further include negotiating
with a second client device of the plurality of client devices to
create a second session that is carried over the third link, and in
response to determining the second session is not stateful, using
the second session to carry traffic without sending session
information associated with the second session to the second
network device.
[0006] In one embodiment, the methods further include detecting a
failure that prevents the first session to carry traffic over the
first link of the first MC-LAG. The methods further include in
response to detecting the failure, performing the ICR switchover by
transitioning to serving as the standby ICR device of the ICR
system, and sending a notification of the ICR switchover to the
second network device, causing the second network device to
transition to serving as the active ICR device of the ICR system,
and further causing the second network device to activate the
standby session and use the activated session to carry traffic
without having to negotiate with the first client device.
[0007] In one embodiment, sending the session information
associated with the first session to the second network device
comprises storing the session information associated with the first
session in a distributed database system (DDS), wherein the DDS is
configured to provide an indication, wherein the indication
comprises of at least one of an indication that the session
information has been sent to a peer ICR device, an indication that
the session information has been received by a DDS at the peer ICR
device, and an indication that the session information has been
sent by the DDS at the peer device to a session daemon at the peer
ICR device.
[0008] Exemplary methods performed by a first network device of an
inter-chassis redundancy (ICR) system that is communicatively
coupled to a second network device of the ICR system, wherein the
first network device configured to serve as a standby ICR device of
the ICR system is communicatively coupled to a third network device
via a second link, and wherein the second network device configured
to serve as an active ICR device of the ICR system is
communicatively coupled to the third network device via a first
link, wherein the first link and the second link belong to a first
multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG), and wherein the
third network device is communicatively coupled to a plurality of
client devices, include receiving from the second network device
session information associated with a first session, wherein the
first session is used by the second network device for exchanging
traffic with a first client device of the plurality of client
devices, and using the received session information to create a
standby session corresponding to the first session.
[0009] In one embodiment, the methods further include receiving a
notification from the second network device indicating the second
network device has performed an ICR switchover. The methods further
include in response to receiving the notification, performing an
ICR switch over by transitioning to serving as the active ICR
device of the ICR system, activating the standby session, and using
the activated standby session to carry traffic without having to
negotiate with the first client device.
[0010] In one embodiment, the methods further include storing the
received session information associated with the first session in a
distributed database system (DDS), wherein the DDS is configured to
provide an indication, wherein the indication comprises of at least
one of an indication that the session information has been received
and an indication that session information has been sent to a
session daemon at the first network device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The invention may best be understood by referring to the
following description and accompanying drawings that are used to
illustrate embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:
[0012] FIG. 1-A is a block diagram illustrating a network according
to one embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 1-B is a block diagram illustrating a network according
to one embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a transaction diagram illustrating
operations/transactions for performing fast switchover at an ICR
system using MC-LAG according to one embodiment.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
performing fast switchover at an ICR system using MC-LAG according
to one embodiment.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
performing fast switchover at an ICR system using MC-LAG according
to one embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 5A illustrates connectivity between network devices
(NDs) within an exemplary network, as well as three exemplary
implementations of the NDs, according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0018] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary way to implement a
special-purpose network device according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0019] FIG. 5C illustrates various exemplary ways in which virtual
network elements (VNEs) may be coupled according to some
embodiments of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 5D illustrates a network with a single network element
(NE) on each of the NDs, and within this straight forward approach
contrasts a traditional distributed approach (commonly used by
traditional routers) with a centralized approach for maintaining
reachability and forwarding information (also called network
control), according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 5E illustrates the simple case of where each of the NDs
implements a single NE, but a centralized control plane has
abstracted multiple of the NEs in different NDs into (to represent)
a single NE in one of the virtual network(s), according to some
embodiments of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 5F illustrates a case where multiple VNEs are
implemented on different NDs and are coupled to each other, and
where a centralized control plane has abstracted these multiple
VNEs such that they appear as a single VNE within one of the
virtual networks, according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates a general purpose control plane device
with centralized control plane (CCP) software), according to some
embodiments of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0024] The following description describes methods and apparatus
for performing inter-chassis redundancy (ICR) switchover. In the
following description, numerous specific details such as logic
implementations, opcodes, means to specify operands, resource
partitioning/sharing/duplication implementations, types and
interrelationships of system components, and logic
partitioning/integration choices are set forth in order to provide
a more thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be
appreciated, however, by one skilled in the art that the invention
may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,
control structures, gate level circuits and full software
instruction sequences have not been shown in detail in order not to
obscure the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the
included descriptions, will be able to implement appropriate
functionality without undue experimentation.
[0025] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an
embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the
embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure,
or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include
the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover,
such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.
Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is
described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it
is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such
feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other
embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
[0026] Bracketed text and blocks with dashed borders (e.g., large
dashes, small dashes, dot-dash, and dots) may be used herein to
illustrate optional operations that add additional features to
embodiments of the invention. However, such notation should not be
taken to mean that these are the only options or optional
operations, and/or that blocks with solid borders are not optional
in certain embodiments of the invention.
[0027] In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled"
and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. It
should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms
for each other. "Coupled" is used to indicate that two or more
elements, which may or may not be in direct physical or electrical
contact with each other, co-operate or interact with each other.
"Connected" is used to indicate the establishment of communication
between two or more elements that are coupled with each other.
[0028] An electronic device stores and transmits (internally and/or
with other electronic devices over a network) code (which is
composed of software instructions and which is sometimes referred
to as computer program code or a computer program) and/or data
using machine-readable media (also called computer-readable media),
such as machine-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks,
optical disks, read only memory (ROM), flash memory devices, phase
change memory) and machine-readable transmission media (also called
a carrier) (e.g., electrical, optical, radio, acoustical or other
form of propagated signals--such as carrier waves, infrared
signals). Thus, an electronic device (e.g., a computer) includes
hardware and software, such as a set of one or more processors
coupled to one or more machine-readable storage media to store code
for execution on the set of processors and/or to store data. For
instance, an electronic device may include non-volatile memory
containing the code since the non-volatile memory can persist
code/data even when the electronic device is turned off (when power
is removed), and while the electronic device is turned on that part
of the code that is to be executed by the processor(s) of that
electronic device is typically copied from the slower non-volatile
memory into volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory
(DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM)) of that electronic
device. Typical electronic devices also include a set or one or
more physical network interface(s) to establish network connections
(to transmit and/or receive code and/or data using propagating
signals) with other electronic devices. One or more parts of an
embodiment of the invention may be implemented using different
combinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware.
[0029] A network device (ND) is an electronic device that
communicatively interconnects other electronic devices on the
network (e.g., other network devices, end-user devices). Some
network devices are "multiple services network devices" that
provide support for multiple networking functions (e.g., routing,
bridging, switching, Layer 2 aggregation, session border control,
Quality of Service, and/or subscriber management), and/or provide
support for multiple application services (e.g., data, voice, and
video).
[0030] FIGS. 1-A and 1-B are block diagrams illustrating a network
according to one embodiment. Referring first to FIG. 1-A, network
100 includes, but is not limited to, one or more subscriber end
stations 101. Throughout the description, subscriber end stations
are also referred to as "client devices". Examples of suitable
subscriber end stations include, but are not limited to, servers,
workstations, laptops, netbooks, palm tops, mobile phones,
smartphones, multimedia phones, tablets, phablets, Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones, user equipment, terminals,
portable media players, GPS units, gaming systems, set-top boxes,
and combinations thereof. Subscriber end stations 101 access
content/services provided over the Internet and/or content/services
provided on virtual private networks (VPNs) overlaid on (e.g.,
tunneled through) the Internet. The content and/or services are
typically provided by one or more provider end stations 116 (e.g.,
server end stations) belonging to a service or content provider.
Examples of such content and/or services include, but are not
limited to, public webpages (e.g., free content, store fronts,
search services), private webpages (e.g., username/password
accessed webpages providing email services), and/or corporate
networks over VPNs, etc.
[0031] As illustrated, subscriber end stations 101 are
communicatively coupled (e.g., through customer premise equipment)
to access network devices (e.g., network device 110) of access
network 102 (wired and/or wirelessly). Access network devices can
be communicatively coupled to provider edge network devices (e.g.,
network devices 107A and 107-B) of provider edge network 106. The
provider edge network devices may be communicatively coupled
through Internet 104 (e.g., through one or more core network
devices 105) to one or more provider end stations 116 (e.g., server
end stations). In some cases, the provider edge network devices of
provider edge network 106 may host on the order of thousands to
millions of wire line type and/or wireless subscriber end stations,
although the scope of the invention is not limited to any known
number.
[0032] In one embodiment, network devices 107-A and 107-B form
inter-chassis redundancy (ICR) system/cluster 111. In an ICR
system, there are typically two ICR devices. There may, however, be
more than two ICR devices in an ICR system. During normal
operation, one ICR device is configured to be in active state
(herein referred to as an active ICR device) while the other is
configured to be in standby state (herein referred to as a standby
ICR device). The active ICR device is responsible for handling
network traffic with a plurality other network devices (e.g.,
subscriber end stations 101), including, for example, allocating
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to such subscriber end stations.
During an ICR switchover (herein referred to simply as a
"switchover"), the active and standby ICR devices switch roles
(e.g., the active ICR device becomes the standby ICR device, and
the standby ICR device becomes the active ICR device.) FIG. 1-A
illustrates that network devices 107-A and 107-B are configured to
serve as the active and standby ICR device of ICR system 111,
respectively.
[0033] Subscriber end stations 101 and provider end stations 116
may exchange traffic via the active ICR device of ICR system 111
using one or more sessions that have been negotiated between the
active ICR device and subscriber end stations 101. As used herein,
a "session" refers to a semi-permanent interactive information
exchange (also commonly referred to as a "dialogue", a
"conversation", etc.) between two or more communicating network
devices. The network devices typically negotiate with each other
using protocols such as the Point-to-Point (PPP) protocol, the PPP
over Ethernet (PPPoE), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP),
etc., to create the sessions.
[0034] According to one embodiment, each ICR device of ICR system
111 includes one or more session daemons (Sds), wherein each Sd is
configured to negotiate with client devices 101 to set up one or
more sessions. In the illustrated example, network devices 107-A
and 107-B include Sds 125-A and 125-B, respectively. As shown, Sd
125-A has successfully negotiated with client devices 101 and
created sessions 151-152 (shown as small dashed lines and large
dashed lines, respectively). Session 151 is to be carried over link
129 and session 152 is to be carried over link 128. It should be
noted that links 129-130 belong to multi-chassis link aggregation
group (MC-LAG) 121. A "LAG" comprises multiple links directly
connecting two network devices with multiple, and a load
distribution decision across these different link paths is
performed at the network device forwarding plane. A "MC-LAG" refers
to a LAG that directly connects one network device with two or more
other network devices. In the illustrated example, MC-LAG 121
directly connects network device 110 with network devices 107-A and
107-B, via links 129 and 130, respectively.
[0035] Each active ICR device maintains session information/records
and ICR related resources that are required for handling network
traffic with the end stations. Depending on the type of session,
the session information may include, but are not limited to: 1)
session identifiers (IDs), 2) Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that
have been assigned to the subscriber end stations, 3) the Quality
of Service (QoS), 4) Access Control List (ACL) that are associated
with the subscriber end stations, 5) subscriber circuit counters,
and/or 6) Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and/or Neighbor
Discovery (ND) media access controller (MAC) addresses. It should
be noted that session timers and session accounting are not
performed for the standby sessions.
[0036] In order for a standby ICR device to seamlessly handle
network connections with the end stations after a switchover event,
the session information and the ICR related resources must be
synced from the active to standby ICR device. Conventionally, the
"all or nothing" approach is taken when session information are
synced. In other words, either the session information of all or
none of the sessions are synced from the active ICR device to the
standby ICR device. Syncing session information of all sessions
allows for a faster switchover because the standby ICR device can
use the synced session information to create the sessions, without
having to negotiate with the end stations. The drawback, however,
is that this approach can require a substantial amount of resources
to backup all the session information at the standby ICR device.
Syncing none of the session information allows for a minimum
utilization of resources. The drawback, however, is that this
approach results in a slower switchover because the standby ICR
device is required to negotiate with each client device in order to
create the sessions.
[0037] Embodiments of the present Sds overcome the above
limitations by only syncing session information of stateful
sessions. According to one embodiment, a Sd determines that a
session is "stateful" if it is carried over an MC-LAG (as opposed
to a link or a LAG that is not protected through the use of
multiple chassis). According to one embodiment, a Sd determines
that a session is carried over a MC-LAG based on link configuration
and information provided by the line card. For example, when a line
card receives a packet belonging to a session, the line card
presents (i.e., forwards) the packet to the control card to be
processed by a Sd. Along with the packet, the line card provides
information such as which port/link the packet was received on.
Further, each port/link may be associated with a set of
configuration (e.g., programmed by a system administrator via a
CLI) indicating whether the port/link is part of a MC-LAG. Based on
the port/link information and the configuration information, each
Sd is able to determine whether the session is part of a MC-LAG. In
one embodiment, each Sd of the active ICR device is to store the
relevant session information (such as those described above) of
each stateful session in a local distributed database system (DDS).
The local DDS is configured to sync (i.e., send/transfer) the
session information stored therein to a DDS of a peer standby ICR
device. The Sds at the standby ICR device is to use the received
session information to create standby sessions, each standby
session corresponding to an active session at the active ICR
device. In this way, when a switchover occurs, the standby ICR
device can activate the standby sessions and use the activated
sessions to carry traffic, without having to negotiate with the
client devices, thereby reducing the traffic/service interruption
to the subscriber end station.
[0038] In the illustrated example, Sd 125-A has determined that
session 151 is stateful because it is carried over MC-LAG 121.
Responsive to such a determination, Sd 125-A stores the session
information associated with session 151 in DDS 126-A as part of
session info 153-A. DDS 126-A, in one embodiment, sends session
info 153-A to DDS 126-B via ICR channel 130. Received session info
153-A is stored as session info 153-B in DDS 126-B. In one
embodiment, in response to determining session info 153-B has been
stored in DDS 126-B, Sd 125-B uses the session information stored
as part of session info 153-B to create a standby session
corresponding to session 151. In this way, when a switchover occurs
and network device 107-B becomes the active ICR device, network
device 107-B can simply activate the standby session and use the
activated session to carry traffic, without having to negotiate
with subscriber end station 101, resulting in minimal or no service
interruption to the subscriber end stations. It should be noted
that Sd 125-A does not store the session information associated
with session 152 because session 152 is not stateful (i.e., it is
not carried over an MC-LAG).
[0039] Referring now to FIG. 1-B. Network 100 of FIG. 1-B is
similar to network 100 of FIG. 1-A. For the sake of brevity, the
topology of network 100 shown in FIG. 1-B shall not be described
here. The difference, however, is that failure 120 has occurred in
network 100 of FIG. 1-B. Failure 120 can be any type of failure
that prevents traffic from being carried over link 129 of MC-LAG
121. For example, failure 120 may be a failure of a port, link,
line card, and/or chassis.
[0040] According to one embodiment, there are two mechanisms that
ICR peers can determine that a switchover is to be performed. For
example, in the case where failure 120 is a port, link, and/or line
card failure, network device 107-A performs a switchover by
transitioning to serving as the standby ICR device, and sending a
notification to network device 107-B via ICR channel 130 indicating
that network device 107-A has transitioned or is in the process of
transitioning to serving as the standby ICR device. In the case
where failure 120 is a chassis failure (e.g., network device 107-A
has failed), network device 107-B detects the switchover in
response to not receiving keep alive messages from network device
107-A. In response to determining a switchover is to be performed
(based on either a notification from network device 107-A or a
failure to receive keep alive messages from network device 107-A),
network device 107-B performs a switchover by transitioning to
serving as the active ICR device. In one embodiment, network device
107-B also activates the standby sessions that it had created using
the backup session information (such as session info 153-B) stored
in DDS 126-B.
[0041] As part of the switchover, network device 107-A also
negotiates with network device 110 (e.g., using the Link
Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) protocol) to stop forwarding
traffic towards network device 107-A via link 129. Network device
107-A can perform such LACP negotiation with network device 110,
for example, via another link (not shown) that communicatively
couples the two network devices. Similarly, network device 107-B
also negotiates with network device 110 (e.g., using the LACP
protocol) to start forwarding traffic towards network device 107-B
via link 130. It should be noted that in the case of a chassis
failure, network device 107-A is not able to perform LACP
negotiation with network device 110. In such an embodiment, traffic
from network device 110 is redirected to network device 107-B based
on the LACP negotiation performed between network devices 107-B and
110. Thus, after the switchover is completed, session 151 is
carried over link 130 of MC-Lag 121.
[0042] Typically, a network device, such as network device 107-A
and/or 107-B, includes a set of one or more line cards, a set of
one or more control cards, and optionally a set of one or more
service cards (sometimes referred to as resource cards). These
cards are coupled together through one or more mechanisms (e.g., a
first full mesh coupling the line cards and a second full mesh
coupling all of the cards). The set of line cards make up the data
plane, while the set of control cards provide the control plane and
exchange packets with external network devices through the line
cards. The set of service cards can provide specialized processing
(e.g., Layer 4 to Layer 7 services (e.g., firewall, Internet
Protocol Security (IPSec), Intrusion Detection System (IDS),
Peer-to-Peer (P2P)), Voice over IP (VoIP) Session Border
Controller, Mobile Wireless Gateways (e.g., Gateway General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (GGSN), Evolved Packet System
(EPS) Gateway)). By way of example, a service card may be used to
terminate IPSec tunnels and execute the attendant authentication
and encryption algorithms.
[0043] According to one embodiment, the various modules (e.g., the
session daemon(s) and the DDS) of network device 107-A can be
implemented as part of one network device. In an alternative
embodiment, these various modules can be implemented as virtual
machines that are executed on one or more network devices. In such
an embodiment, the various virtualized modules that are distributed
among different network devices communicate with other using
tunneling mechanisms (e.g., Virtual Extensible LAN (VxLAN)).
Virtual machines are described in further details below. Similarly,
the various modules of network device 107-B can be implemented as
one network device, or distributed among multiple network devices
as virtual machines. Embodiments of the present invention shall now
be described in greater details through the description of various
other figures below.
[0044] FIG. 2 is a transaction diagram illustrating operations and
transactions for performing fast switchover at an ICR system using
MC-LAG according to one embodiment. The transactions and operations
of FIG. 2 assume a network topology similar to the network topology
illustrated in FIGS. 1-A and 1-B.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 2, at operation 205, Sd 125-A
negotiates with a client device (e.g., client device 101) and
creates a first session (e.g., session 151). At operation 210, Sd
125-A determines that the first session is stateful. For example,
Sd 125-A determines that session 151 is stateful because it is
carried over MC-LAG 121. At transaction 215, Sd 125-A stores
session information associated with the first session in DDS 126-A.
For example, Sd 125-A stores session info 153-A in DDS 126-A as
session info 153-B.
[0046] At transaction 220, DDS 126-A, in response to determining
session information has been stored, sends the stored session
information associated with the first session to DDS 126-B. At
transaction 225, DDS 126-B stores the received session information
associated with the first session. At operation 227, DDS 126-B
notifies Sd 125-B that a new session info has been stored in the
DDS. At operation 230, Sd 125-B uses the stored session information
associated with the first session to create a first standby session
corresponding to the first session created by Sd 125-A. In this
way, when a switchover occurs, network device 107-B can simply
activate the first standby session and use the activated session to
carry traffic, without having to negotiate with the client, and
thereby reducing traffic/service interruption to the subscriber end
stations.
[0047] At transaction 235, DDS 126-B sends an acknowledgement (ACK)
to DDS 126-A. In one embodiment, DDS 126-B is configured to send
the ACK: 1) upon receiving the session information, 2) upon storing
the session information, 3) upon sending the stored session
information to Sd 125-B, and/or 4) upon Sd 125-B completing the
creation of the first standby session using the session
information.
[0048] At transaction 240, DDS 126-A sends an ACK to Sd 125-A. In
one embodiment, DDS 126-A is configured to send the ACK: 1) upon
sending session information to DDS 126-B (e.g., after transaction
220 has been performed), and/or 2) upon receiving an ACK from DDS
126-B. According to one embodiment, the timing of when DDS 126-A
and DDS 126-B send the ACKs is configurable, for example, through a
command line interface (CLI).
[0049] At operation 245, Sd 125-A negotiates with a client device
(e.g., client device 101) and creates a second session (e.g.,
session 152). At operation 250, Sd 125-A determines that the second
session is not stateful (e.g., because the second session is not
carried over an MC-LAG). In response to determining the second
session is not stateful, Sd 125-A uses the second session to carry
traffic, but does not store the session information associated with
the second session in DDS 126-A. In this way, Sd 125-A prevents DDS
126-A from syncing the session information associated with the
second session to DDS 126-B. For example, Sd 125-A determines that
session 152 is not stateful because it is not carried over a
MC-LAG. In response to such a determination, Sd 125-A uses session
152 to carry traffic, but does not store the session information
associated with session 152 in DDS 126-A.
[0050] At transaction 255, a switchover event occurs. For example,
network devices 107-A and 107-B switch roles (e.g., network device
107-A transitions to serving as the standby ICR device, and network
device 107-B transitions to serving as the active ICR device). At
operation 260, in response to the switchover event, Sd 125-B
actives the first standby session and uses the activated first
session to carry traffic, without having to negotiate with the
client device. For example, Sd 125-B activates the standby session
corresponding to session 151 (created by Sd 125-A) and uses the
activated session to carry traffic, without having to negotiate
with client device 101.
[0051] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
performing fast switchover at an ICR system using MC-LAG according
to one embodiment. For example, method 300 can be performed by
network device 107-A. Method 300 can be implemented in software,
firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. The operations in
this and other flow diagrams will be described with reference to
the exemplary embodiments of the other figures. However, it should
be understood that the operations of the flow diagrams can be
performed by embodiments of the invention other than those
discussed with reference to the other figures, and the embodiments
of the invention discussed with reference to these other figures
can perform operations different than those discussed with
reference to the flow diagrams.
[0052] Referring now to FIG. 3, at block 305, a network device
transitions to serving as an active ICR device of an ICR system.
For example, network device 107-A transitions to serving as the
active ICR device of ICR system 111. At block 310, the network
device receives a request to create a session. For example, network
device 107-A receives a request (e.g., from an administrator via a
CLI) to create a session.
[0053] At block 315, the network device negotiates with a client
device and creates the requested session. For example, Sd 125-A of
network device 107-A negotiates with client device 101 to create
session 151 or 152. At block 320, the network device determines
whether the created session is stateful (e.g., by determining
whether the created session is carried over an MC-LAG). In response
to determining the created session is not stateful, the network
device transitions back to block 310 and waits for the next request
to create another session. For example, in response to determining
session 152 is not stateful, network device 107-A transitions back
to block 310. Alternatively, in response to determining the created
session is stateful, the network device proceeds to block 325. For
example, in response to determining session 151 is stateful,
network device 107-A transitions to block 325.
[0054] At block 325, the network device stores the session
information associated with the created session in a DDS. For
example, network device 107-A stores session info 153-A in DDS
126-A. At block 330, the network device sends the session
information stored in the DDS to a peer standby ICR device. For
example, DDS 126-A sends session info 153-A to DDS 126-B via ICR
channel 130, causing network device 107-B to create a standby
session corresponding to session 151. At optional block 335, the
network device waits for an ACK from the peer standby ICR device.
As part of optional block 335, in response to receiving the ACK
from the peer standby ICR device, the DDS of the network device
sends an ACK to the session daemon which created the session. For
example, in response to receiving an ACK from DDS 126-B, DDS 126-A
sends an ACK to Sd 125-A which created session 151.
[0055] In an embodiment where optional block 335 is not
implemented, the DDS of the network device sends an ACK to the Sd
which created the session without waiting for an ACK from the peer
standby ICR device, and returns to block 310. For example, after
sending session info 153-A to DDS 126-B, DDS 126-A sends an ACK to
Sd 125-A, without waiting for an ACK from DDS 126-B.
[0056] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
performing fast switchover at an ICR system using MC-LAG according
to one embodiment. For example, method 400 can be performed by
network device 107-B. Method 400 can be implemented in software,
firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. Referring now to
FIG. 4, at block 405 a network device transitions to serving as a
standby ICR device of an ICR system. For example, network device
107-B transitions to serving as the standby ICR device of ICR
system 111.
[0057] At block 410, the network device receives session
information from a peer ICR device. For example, DDS 126-B of
network device 107-B receives from DDS 126-A of network device
107-A session info 153-A which includes session information
associated with session 151 created by Sd 125-A of network device
107-A. At block 415, the network device stores the received session
information in a DDS. For example, DDS 126-B stores received
session info 153-A as session info 153-B.
[0058] At block 420, the network device creates a standby session
using the session information stored in the DDS, without activating
the created session. For example, Sd 125-B creates a standby
session using session info 153-B, without activating the created
standby session, wherein the created standby session corresponds to
session 151 created by Sd 125-A.
[0059] At block 425, the network device sends an ACK to the peer
ICR device. For example, DDS 126-B sends an ACK to DDS 126-A. At
block 430, the network device detects an ICR switchover event and
transitions to serving as the active ICR device of the ICR system.
For example, in response to receiving a notification from network
device 107-A indicating it has transitioned or is in the process of
transitioning to serving as the standby ICR device or in response
to not receiving keep alive messages from network device 107-A,
network device 107-B transitions to serving as the active ICR
device. At block 435, the network device activates the standby
session and uses the activated session to carry traffic, without
having to negotiate with a client device. For example, Sd 125-B
activates the standby session corresponding to session 151 and uses
the activated session to carry traffic, without having to negotiate
with client device 101.
[0060] FIG. 5A illustrates connectivity between network devices
(NDs) within an exemplary network, as well as three exemplary
implementations of the NDs, according to some embodiments of the
invention. FIG. 5A shows NDs 500A-H, and their connectivity by way
of lines between A-B, B-C, C-D, D-E, E-F, F-G, and A-G, as well as
between H and each of A, C, D, and G. These NDs are physical
devices, and the connectivity between these NDs can be wireless or
wired (often referred to as a link). An additional line extending
from NDs 500A, E, and F illustrates that these NDs act as ingress
and egress points for the network (and thus, these NDs are
sometimes referred to as edge NDs; while the other NDs may be
called core NDs).
[0061] Two of the exemplary ND implementations in FIG. 5A are: 1) a
special-purpose network device 502 that uses custom
application-specific integrated-circuits (ASICs) and a proprietary
operating system (OS); and 2) a general purpose network device 504
that uses common off-the-shelf (COTS) processors and a standard
OS.
[0062] The special-purpose network device 502 includes networking
hardware 510 comprising compute resource(s) 512 (which typically
include a set of one or more processors), forwarding resource(s)
514 (which typically include one or more ASICs and/or network
processors), and physical network interfaces (NIs) 516 (sometimes
called physical ports), as well as non-transitory machine readable
storage media 518 having stored therein networking software 520. A
physical NI is hardware in a ND through which a network connection
(e.g., wirelessly through a wireless network interface controller
(WNIC) or through plugging in a cable to a physical port connected
to a network interface controller (NIC)) is made, such as those
shown by the connectivity between NDs 500A-H. During operation, the
networking software 520 may be executed by the networking hardware
510 to instantiate a set of one or more networking software
instance(s) 522. Each of the networking software instance(s) 522,
and that part of the networking hardware 510 that executes that
network software instance (be it hardware dedicated to that
networking software instance and/or time slices of hardware
temporally shared by that networking software instance with others
of the networking software instance(s) 522), form a separate
virtual network element 530A-R. Each of the virtual network
element(s) (VNEs) 530A-R includes a control communication and
configuration module 532A-R (sometimes referred to as a local
control module or control communication module) and forwarding
table(s) 534A-R, such that a given virtual network element (e.g.,
530A) includes the control communication and configuration module
(e.g., 532A), a set of one or more forwarding table(s) (e.g.,
534A), and that portion of the networking hardware 510 that
executes the virtual network element (e.g., 530A).
[0063] Software 520 can include code which when executed by
networking hardware 510, causes networking hardware 510 to perform
operations of one or more embodiments of the present invention as
part networking software instances 522.
[0064] The special-purpose network device 502 is often physically
and/or logically considered to include: 1) a ND control plane 524
(sometimes referred to as a control plane) comprising the compute
resource(s) 512 that execute the control communication and
configuration module(s) 532A-R; and 2) a ND forwarding plane 526
(sometimes referred to as a forwarding plane, a data plane, or a
media plane) comprising the forwarding resource(s) 514 that utilize
the forwarding table(s) 534A-R and the physical NIs 516. By way of
example, where the ND is a router (or is implementing routing
functionality), the ND control plane 524 (the compute resource(s)
512 executing the control communication and configuration module(s)
532A-R) is typically responsible for participating in controlling
how data (e.g., packets) is to be routed (e.g., the next hop for
the data and the outgoing physical NI for that data) and storing
that routing information in the forwarding table(s) 534A-R, and the
ND forwarding plane 526 is responsible for receiving that data on
the physical NIs 516 and forwarding that data out the appropriate
ones of the physical NIs 516 based on the forwarding table(s)
534A-R.
[0065] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary way to implement the
special-purpose network device 502 according to some embodiments of
the invention. FIG. 5B shows a special-purpose network device
including cards 538 (typically hot pluggable). While in some
embodiments the cards 538 are of two types (one or more that
operate as the ND forwarding plane 526 (sometimes called line
cards), and one or more that operate to implement the ND control
plane 524 (sometimes called control cards)), alternative
embodiments may combine functionality onto a single card and/or
include additional card types (e.g., one additional type of card is
called a service card, resource card, or multi-application card). A
service card can provide specialized processing (e.g., Layer 4 to
Layer 7 services (e.g., firewall, Internet Protocol Security
(IPsec), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS),
Intrusion Detection System (IDS), peer-to-peer (P2P), Voice over IP
(VoIP) Session Border Controller, Mobile Wireless Gateways (Gateway
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (GGSN), Evolved
Packet Core (EPC) Gateway)). By way of example, a service card may
be used to terminate IPsec tunnels and execute the attendant
authentication and encryption algorithms. These cards are coupled
together through one or more interconnect mechanisms illustrated as
backplane 536 (e.g., a first full mesh coupling the line cards and
a second full mesh coupling all of the cards).
[0066] Returning to FIG. 5A, the general purpose network device 504
includes hardware 540 comprising a set of one or more processor(s)
542 (which are often COTS processors) and network interface
controller(s) 544 (NICs; also known as network interface cards)
(which include physical NIs 546), as well as non-transitory machine
readable storage media 548 having stored therein software 550.
During operation, the processor(s) 542 execute the software 550 to
instantiate one or more sets of one or more applications 564A-R.
While one embodiment does not implement virtualization, alternative
embodiments may use different forms of virtualization--represented
by a virtualization layer 554 and software containers 562A-R. For
example, one such alternative embodiment implements operating
system-level virtualization, in which case the virtualization layer
554 represents the kernel of an operating system (or a shim
executing on a base operating system) that allows for the creation
of multiple software containers 562A-R that may each be used to
execute one of the sets of applications 564A-R. In this embodiment,
the multiple software containers 562A-R (also called virtualization
engines, virtual private servers, or jails) are each a user space
instance (typically a virtual memory space); these user space
instances are separate from each other and separate from the kernel
space in which the operating system is run; the set of applications
running in a given user space, unless explicitly allowed, cannot
access the memory of the other processes. Another such alternative
embodiment implements full virtualization, in which case: 1) the
virtualization layer 554 represents a hypervisor (sometimes
referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM)) or a hypervisor
executing on top of a host operating system; and 2) the software
containers 562A-R each represent a tightly isolated form of
software container called a virtual machine that is run by the
hypervisor and may include a guest operating system. A virtual
machine is a software implementation of a physical machine that
runs programs as if they were executing on a physical,
non-virtualized machine; and applications generally do not know
they are running on a virtual machine as opposed to running on a
"bare metal" host electronic device, though some systems provide
para-virtualization which allows an operating system or application
to be aware of the presence of virtualization for optimization
purposes.
[0067] The instantiation of the one or more sets of one or more
applications 564A-R, as well as the virtualization layer 554 and
software containers 562A-R if implemented, are collectively
referred to as software instance(s) 552. Each set of applications
564A-R, corresponding software container 562A-R if implemented, and
that part of the hardware 540 that executes them (be it hardware
dedicated to that execution and/or time slices of hardware
temporally shared by software containers 562A-R), forms a separate
virtual network element(s) 560A-R.
[0068] The virtual network element(s) 560A-R perform similar
functionality to the virtual network element(s) 530A-R--e.g.,
similar to the control communication and configuration module(s)
532A and forwarding table(s) 534A (this virtualization of the
hardware 540 is sometimes referred to as network function
virtualization (NFV)). Thus, NFV may be used to consolidate many
network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server
hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which could be
located in Data centers, NDs, and customer premise equipment (CPE).
However, different embodiments of the invention may implement one
or more of the software container(s) 562A-R differently. For
example, while embodiments of the invention are illustrated with
each software container 562A-R corresponding to one VNE 560A-R,
alternative embodiments may implement this correspondence at a
finer level granularity (e.g., line card virtual machines
virtualize line cards, control card virtual machine virtualize
control cards, etc.); it should be understood that the techniques
described herein with reference to a correspondence of software
containers 562A-R to VNEs also apply to embodiments where such a
finer level of granularity is used.
[0069] In certain embodiments, the virtualization layer 554
includes a virtual switch that provides similar forwarding services
as a physical Ethernet switch. Specifically, this virtual switch
forwards traffic between software containers 562A-R and the NIC(s)
544, as well as optionally between the software containers 562A-R;
in addition, this virtual switch may enforce network isolation
between the VNEs 560A-R that by policy are not permitted to
communicate with each other (e.g., by honoring virtual local area
networks (VLANs)).
[0070] Software 550 can include code which when executed by
processor(s) 542, cause processor(s) 542 to perform operations of
one or more embodiments of the present invention as part software
containers 562A-R.
[0071] The third exemplary ND implementation in FIG. 5A is a hybrid
network device 506, which includes both custom ASICs/proprietary OS
and COTS processors/standard OS in a single ND or a single card
within an ND. In certain embodiments of such a hybrid network
device, a platform VM (i.e., a VM that that implements the
functionality of the special-purpose network device 502) could
provide for para-virtualization to the networking hardware present
in the hybrid network device 506.
[0072] Regardless of the above exemplary implementations of an ND,
when a single one of multiple VNEs implemented by an ND is being
considered (e.g., only one of the VNEs is part of a given virtual
network) or where only a single VNE is currently being implemented
by an ND, the shortened term network element (NE) is sometimes used
to refer to that VNE. Also in all of the above exemplary
implementations, each of the VNEs (e.g., VNE(s) 530A-R, VNEs
560A-R, and those in the hybrid network device 506) receives data
on the physical NIs (e.g., 516, 546) and forwards that data out the
appropriate ones of the physical NIs (e.g., 516, 546). For example,
a VNE implementing IP router functionality forwards IP packets on
the basis of some of the IP header information in the IP packet;
where IP header information includes source IP address, destination
IP address, source port, destination port (where "source port" and
"destination port" refer herein to protocol ports, as opposed to
physical ports of a ND), transport protocol (e.g., user datagram
protocol (UDP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and
differentiated services (DSCP) values.
[0073] FIG. 5C illustrates various exemplary ways in which VNEs may
be coupled according to some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 5C
shows VNEs 570A.1-570A.P (and optionally VNEs 570A.Q-570A.R)
implemented in ND 500A and VNE 570H.1 in ND 500H. In FIG. 5C, VNEs
570A.1-P are separate from each other in the sense that they can
receive packets from outside ND 500A and forward packets outside of
ND 500A; VNE 570A.1 is coupled with VNE 570H.1, and thus they
communicate packets between their respective NDs; VNE 570A.2-570A.3
may optionally forward packets between themselves without
forwarding them outside of the ND 500A; and VNE 570A.P may
optionally be the first in a chain of VNEs that includes VNE 570A.Q
followed by VNE 570A.R (this is sometimes referred to as dynamic
service chaining, where each of the VNEs in the series of VNEs
provides a different service--e.g., one or more layer 4-7 network
services). While FIG. 5C illustrates various exemplary
relationships between the VNEs, alternative embodiments may support
other relationships (e.g., more/fewer VNEs, more/fewer dynamic
service chains, multiple different dynamic service chains with some
common VNEs and some different VNEs).
[0074] The NDs of FIG. 5A, for example, may form part of the
Internet or a private network; and other electronic devices (not
shown; such as end user devices including workstations, laptops,
netbooks, tablets, palm tops, mobile phones, smartphones, phablets,
multimedia phones, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones,
terminals, portable media players, GPS units, wearable devices,
gaming systems, set-top boxes, Internet enabled household
appliances) may be coupled to the network (directly or through
other networks such as access networks) to communicate over the
network (e.g., the Internet or virtual private networks (VPNs)
overlaid on (e.g., tunneled through) the Internet) with each other
(directly or through servers) and/or access content and/or
services. Such content and/or services are typically provided by
one or more servers (not shown) belonging to a service/content
provider or one or more end user devices (not shown) participating
in a peer-to-peer (P2P) service, and may include, for example,
public webpages (e.g., free content, store fronts, search
services), private webpages (e.g., username/password accessed
webpages providing email services), and/or corporate networks over
VPNs. For instance, end user devices may be coupled (e.g., through
customer premise equipment coupled to an access network (wired or
wirelessly)) to edge NDs, which are coupled (e.g., through one or
more core NDs) to other edge NDs, which are coupled to electronic
devices acting as servers. However, through compute and storage
virtualization, one or more of the electronic devices operating as
the NDs in FIG. 5A may also host one or more such servers (e.g., in
the case of the general purpose network device 504, one or more of
the software containers 562A-R may operate as servers; the same
would be true for the hybrid network device 506; in the case of the
special-purpose network device 502, one or more such servers could
also be run on a virtualization layer executed by the compute
resource(s) 512); in which case the servers are said to be
co-located with the VNEs of that ND.
[0075] A virtual network is a logical abstraction of a physical
network (such as that in FIG. 5A) that provides network services
(e.g., L2 and/or L3 services). A virtual network can be implemented
as an overlay network (sometimes referred to as a network
virtualization overlay) that provides network services (e.g., layer
2 (L2, data link layer) and/or layer 3 (L3, network layer)
services) over an underlay network (e.g., an L3 network, such as an
Internet Protocol (IP) network that uses tunnels (e.g., generic
routing encapsulation (GRE), layer 2 tunneling protocol (L2TP),
IPSec) to create the overlay network).
[0076] A network virtualization edge (NVE) sits at the edge of the
underlay network and participates in implementing the network
virtualization; the network-facing side of the NVE uses the
underlay network to tunnel frames to and from other NVEs; the
outward-facing side of the NVE sends and receives data to and from
systems outside the network. A virtual network instance (VNI) is a
specific instance of a virtual network on a NVE (e.g., a NE/VNE on
an ND, a part of a NE/VNE on a ND where that NE/VNE is divided into
multiple VNEs through emulation); one or more VNIs can be
instantiated on an NVE (e.g., as different VNEs on an ND). A
virtual access point (VAP) is a logical connection point on the NVE
for connecting external systems to a virtual network; a VAP can be
physical or virtual ports identified through logical interface
identifiers (e.g., a VLAN ID).
[0077] Examples of network services include: 1) an Ethernet LAN
emulation service (an Ethernet-based multipoint service similar to
an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Multiprotocol Label
Switching (MPLS) or Ethernet VPN (EVPN) service) in which external
systems are interconnected across the network by a LAN environment
over the underlay network (e.g., an NVE provides separate L2 VNIs
(virtual switching instances) for different such virtual networks,
and L3 (e.g., IP/MPLS) tunneling encapsulation across the underlay
network); and 2) a virtualized IP forwarding service (similar to
IETF IP VPN (e.g., Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)/MPLS IPVPN) from a
service definition perspective) in which external systems are
interconnected across the network by an L3 environment over the
underlay network (e.g., an NVE provides separate L3 VNIs
(forwarding and routing instances) for different such virtual
networks, and L3 (e.g., IP/MPLS) tunneling encapsulation across the
underlay network)). Network services may also include quality of
service capabilities (e.g., traffic classification marking, traffic
conditioning and scheduling), security capabilities (e.g., filters
to protect customer premises from network--originated attacks, to
avoid malformed route announcements), and management capabilities
(e.g., full detection and processing).
[0078] FIG. 5D illustrates a network with a single network element
on each of the NDs of FIG. 5A, and within this straight forward
approach contrasts a traditional distributed approach (commonly
used by traditional routers) with a centralized approach for
maintaining reachability and forwarding information (also called
network control), according to some embodiments of the invention.
Specifically, FIG. 5D illustrates network elements (NEs) 570A-H
with the same connectivity as the NDs 500A-H of FIG. 5A.
[0079] FIG. 5D illustrates that the distributed approach 572
distributes responsibility for generating the reachability and
forwarding information across the NEs 570A-H; in other words, the
process of neighbor discovery and topology discovery is
distributed.
[0080] For example, where the special-purpose network device 502 is
used, the control communication and configuration module(s) 532A-R
of the ND control plane 524 typically include a reachability and
forwarding information module to implement one or more routing
protocols (e.g., an exterior gateway protocol such as Border
Gateway Protocol (BGP), Interior Gateway Protocol(s) (IGP) (e.g.,
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Intermediate System to
Intermediate System (IS-IS), Routing Information Protocol (RIP)),
Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), Resource Reservation Protocol
(RSVP), as well as RSVP-Traffic Engineering (TE): Extensions to
RSVP for LSP Tunnels, Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching
(GMPLS) Signaling RSVP-TE that communicate with other NEs to
exchange routes, and then selects those routes based on one or more
routing metrics. Thus, the NEs 570A-H (e.g., the compute
resource(s) 512 executing the control communication and
configuration module(s) 532A-R) perform their responsibility for
participating in controlling how data (e.g., packets) is to be
routed (e.g., the next hop for the data and the outgoing physical
NI for that data) by distributively determining the reachability
within the network and calculating their respective forwarding
information. Routes and adjacencies are stored in one or more
routing structures (e.g., Routing Information Base (RIB), Label
Information Base (LIB), one or more adjacency structures) on the ND
control plane 524. The ND control plane 524 programs the ND
forwarding plane 526 with information (e.g., adjacency and route
information) based on the routing structure(s). For example, the ND
control plane 524 programs the adjacency and route information into
one or more forwarding table(s) 534A-R (e.g., Forwarding
Information Base (FIB), Label Forwarding Information Base (LFIB),
and one or more adjacency structures) on the ND forwarding plane
526. For layer 2 forwarding, the ND can store one or more bridging
tables that are used to forward data based on the layer 2
information in that data. While the above example uses the
special-purpose network device 502, the same distributed approach
572 can be implemented on the general purpose network device 504
and the hybrid network device 506.
[0081] FIG. 5D illustrates that a centralized approach 574 (also
known as software defined networking (SDN)) that decouples the
system that makes decisions about where traffic is sent from the
underlying systems that forwards traffic to the selected
destination. The illustrated centralized approach 574 has the
responsibility for the generation of reachability and forwarding
information in a centralized control plane 576 (sometimes referred
to as a SDN control module, controller, network controller,
OpenFlow controller, SDN controller, control plane node, network
virtualization authority, or management control entity), and thus
the process of neighbor discovery and topology discovery is
centralized. The centralized control plane 576 has a south bound
interface 582 with a data plane 580 (sometime referred to the
infrastructure layer, network forwarding plane, or forwarding plane
(which should not be confused with a ND forwarding plane)) that
includes the NEs 570A-H (sometimes referred to as switches,
forwarding elements, data plane elements, or nodes). The
centralized control plane 576 includes a network controller 578,
which includes a centralized reachability and forwarding
information module 579 that determines the reachability within the
network and distributes the forwarding information to the NEs
570A-H of the data plane 580 over the south bound interface 582
(which may use the OpenFlow protocol). Thus, the network
intelligence is centralized in the centralized control plane 576
executing on electronic devices that are typically separate from
the NDs.
[0082] For example, where the special-purpose network device 502 is
used in the data plane 580, each of the control communication and
configuration module(s) 532A-R of the ND control plane 524
typically include a control agent that provides the VNE side of the
south bound interface 582. In this case, the ND control plane 524
(the compute resource(s) 512 executing the control communication
and configuration module(s) 532A-R) performs its responsibility for
participating in controlling how data (e.g., packets) is to be
routed (e.g., the next hop for the data and the outgoing physical
NI for that data) through the control agent communicating with the
centralized control plane 576 to receive the forwarding information
(and in some cases, the reachability information) from the
centralized reachability and forwarding information module 579 (it
should be understood that in some embodiments of the invention, the
control communication and configuration module(s) 532A-R, in
addition to communicating with the centralized control plane 576,
may also play some role in determining reachability and/or
calculating forwarding information--albeit less so than in the case
of a distributed approach; such embodiments are generally
considered to fall under the centralized approach 574, but may also
be considered a hybrid approach).
[0083] While the above example uses the special-purpose network
device 502, the same centralized approach 574 can be implemented
with the general purpose network device 504 (e.g., each of the VNE
560A-R performs its responsibility for controlling how data (e.g.,
packets) is to be routed (e.g., the next hop for the data and the
outgoing physical NI for that data) by communicating with the
centralized control plane 576 to receive the forwarding information
(and in some cases, the reachability information) from the
centralized reachability and forwarding information module 579; it
should be understood that in some embodiments of the invention, the
VNEs 560A-R, in addition to communicating with the centralized
control plane 576, may also play some role in determining
reachability and/or calculating forwarding information--albeit less
so than in the case of a distributed approach) and the hybrid
network device 506. In fact, the use of SDN techniques can enhance
the NFV techniques typically used in the general purpose network
device 504 or hybrid network device 506 implementations as NFV is
able to support SDN by providing an infrastructure upon which the
SDN software can be run, and NFV and SDN both aim to make use of
commodity server hardware and physical switches.
[0084] FIG. 5D also shows that the centralized control plane 576
has a north bound interface 584 to an application layer 586, in
which resides application(s) 588. The centralized control plane 576
has the ability to form virtual networks 592 (sometimes referred to
as a logical forwarding plane, network services, or overlay
networks (with the NEs 570A-H of the data plane 580 being the
underlay network)) for the application(s) 588. Thus, the
centralized control plane 576 maintains a global view of all NDs
and configured NEs/VNEs, and it maps the virtual networks to the
underlying NDs efficiently (including maintaining these mappings as
the physical network changes either through hardware (ND, link, or
ND component) failure, addition, or removal).
[0085] While FIG. 5D shows the distributed approach 572 separate
from the centralized approach 574, the effort of network control
may be distributed differently or the two combined in certain
embodiments of the invention. For example: 1) embodiments may
generally use the centralized approach (SDN) 574, but have certain
functions delegated to the NEs (e.g., the distributed approach may
be used to implement one or more of fault monitoring, performance
monitoring, protection switching, and primitives for neighbor
and/or topology discovery); or 2) embodiments of the invention may
perform neighbor discovery and topology discovery via both the
centralized control plane and the distributed protocols, and the
results compared to raise exceptions where they do not agree. Such
embodiments are generally considered to fall under the centralized
approach 574, but may also be considered a hybrid approach.
[0086] While FIG. 5D illustrates the simple case where each of the
NDs 500A-H implements a single NE 570A-H, it should be understood
that the network control approaches described with reference to
FIG. 5D also work for networks where one or more of the NDs 500A-H
implement multiple VNEs (e.g., VNEs 530A-R, VNEs 560A-R, those in
the hybrid network device 506). Alternatively or in addition, the
network controller 578 may also emulate the implementation of
multiple VNEs in a single ND. Specifically, instead of (or in
addition to) implementing multiple VNEs in a single ND, the network
controller 578 may present the implementation of a VNE/NE in a
single ND as multiple VNEs in the virtual networks 592 (all in the
same one of the virtual network(s) 592, each in different ones of
the virtual network(s) 592, or some combination). For example, the
network controller 578 may cause an ND to implement a single VNE (a
NE) in the underlay network, and then logically divide up the
resources of that NE within the centralized control plane 576 to
present different VNEs in the virtual network(s) 592 (where these
different VNEs in the overlay networks are sharing the resources of
the single VNE/NE implementation on the ND in the underlay
network).
[0087] On the other hand, FIGS. 5E and 5F respectively illustrate
exemplary abstractions of NEs and VNEs that the network controller
578 may present as part of different ones of the virtual networks
592. FIG. 5E illustrates the simple case of where each of the NDs
500A-H implements a single NE 570A-H (see FIG. 5D), but the
centralized control plane 576 has abstracted multiple of the NEs in
different NDs (the NEs 570A-C and G-H) into (to represent) a single
NE 5701 in one of the virtual network(s) 592 of FIG. 5D, according
to some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 5E shows that in this
virtual network, the NE 5701 is coupled to NE 570D and 570F, which
are both still coupled to NE 570E.
[0088] FIG. 5F illustrates a case where multiple VNEs (VNE 570A.1
and VNE 570H.1) are implemented on different NDs (ND 500A and ND
500H) and are coupled to each other, and where the centralized
control plane 576 has abstracted these multiple VNEs such that they
appear as a single VNE 570T within one of the virtual networks 592
of FIG. 5D, according to some embodiments of the invention. Thus,
the abstraction of a NE or VNE can span multiple NDs.
[0089] While some embodiments of the invention implement the
centralized control plane 576 as a single entity (e.g., a single
instance of software running on a single electronic device),
alternative embodiments may spread the functionality across
multiple entities for redundancy and/or scalability purposes (e.g.,
multiple instances of software running on different electronic
devices).
[0090] Similar to the network device implementations, the
electronic device(s) running the centralized control plane 576, and
thus the network controller 578 including the centralized
reachability and forwarding information module 579, may be
implemented a variety of ways (e.g., a special purpose device, a
general-purpose (e.g., COTS) device, or hybrid device). These
electronic device(s) would similarly include compute resource(s), a
set or one or more physical NICs, and a non-transitory
machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon the
centralized control plane software. For instance, FIG. 6
illustrates, a general purpose control plane device 604 including
hardware 640 comprising a set of one or more processor(s) 642
(which are often COTS processors) and network interface
controller(s) 644 (NICs; also known as network interface cards)
(which include physical NIs 646), as well as non-transitory machine
readable storage media 648 having stored therein centralized
control plane (CCP) software 650.
[0091] In embodiments that use compute virtualization, the
processor(s) 642 typically execute software to instantiate a
virtualization layer 654 and software container(s) 662A-R (e.g.,
with operating system-level virtualization, the virtualization
layer 654 represents the kernel of an operating system (or a shim
executing on a base operating system) that allows for the creation
of multiple software containers 662A-R (representing separate user
space instances and also called virtualization engines, virtual
private servers, or jails) that may each be used to execute a set
of one or more applications; with full virtualization, the
virtualization layer 654 represents a hypervisor (sometimes
referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM)) or a hypervisor
executing on top of a host operating system, and the software
containers 662A-R each represent a tightly isolated form of
software container called a virtual machine that is run by the
hypervisor and may include a guest operating system; with
para-virtualization, an operating system or application running
with a virtual machine may be aware of the presence of
virtualization for optimization purposes). Again, in embodiments
where compute virtualization is used, during operation an instance
of the CCP software 650 (illustrated as CCP instance 676A) is
executed within the software container 662A on the virtualization
layer 654. In embodiments where compute virtualization is not used,
the CCP instance 676A on top of a host operating system is executed
on the "bare metal" general purpose control plane device 604. The
instantiation of the CCP instance 676A, as well as the
virtualization layer 654 and software containers 662A-R if
implemented, are collectively referred to as software instance(s)
652.
[0092] In some embodiments, the CCP instance 676A includes a
network controller instance 678. The network controller instance
678 includes a centralized reachability and forwarding information
module instance 679 (which is a middleware layer providing the
context of the network controller 578 to the operating system and
communicating with the various NEs), and an CCP application layer
680 (sometimes referred to as an application layer) over the
middleware layer (providing the intelligence required for various
network operations such as protocols, network situational
awareness, and user--interfaces). At a more abstract level, this
CCP application layer 680 within the centralized control plane 576
works with virtual network view(s) (logical view(s) of the network)
and the middleware layer provides the conversion from the virtual
networks to the physical view.
[0093] The centralized control plane 576 transmits relevant
messages to the data plane 580 based on CCP application layer 680
calculations and middleware layer mapping for each flow. A flow may
be defined as a set of packets whose headers match a given pattern
of bits; in this sense, traditional IP forwarding is also
flow--based forwarding where the flows are defined by the
destination IP address for example; however, in other
implementations, the given pattern of bits used for a flow
definition may include more fields (e.g., 10 or more) in the packet
headers. Different NDs/NEs/VNEs of the data plane 580 may receive
different messages, and thus different forwarding information. The
data plane 580 processes these messages and programs the
appropriate flow information and corresponding actions in the
forwarding tables (sometime referred to as flow tables) of the
appropriate NE/VNEs, and then the NEs/VNEs map incoming packets to
flows represented in the forwarding tables and forward packets
based on the matches in the forwarding tables.
[0094] Standards such as OpenFlow define the protocols used for the
messages, as well as a model for processing the packets. The model
for processing packets includes header parsing, packet
classification, and making forwarding decisions. Header parsing
describes how to interpret a packet based upon a well-known set of
protocols. Some protocol fields are used to build a match structure
(or key) that will be used in packet classification (e.g., a first
key field could be a source media access control (MAC) address, and
a second key field could be a destination MAC address).
[0095] Packet classification involves executing a lookup in memory
to classify the packet by determining which entry (also referred to
as a forwarding table entry or flow entry) in the forwarding tables
best matches the packet based upon the match structure, or key, of
the forwarding table entries. It is possible that many flows
represented in the forwarding table entries can correspond/match to
a packet; in this case the system is typically configured to
determine one forwarding table entry from the many according to a
defined scheme (e.g., selecting a first forwarding table entry that
is matched). Forwarding table entries include both a specific set
of match criteria (a set of values or wildcards, or an indication
of what portions of a packet should be compared to a particular
value/values/wildcards, as defined by the matching
capabilities--for specific fields in the packet header, or for some
other packet content), and a set of one or more actions for the
data plane to take on receiving a matching packet. For example, an
action may be to push a header onto the packet, for the packet
using a particular port, flood the packet, or simply drop the
packet. Thus, a forwarding table entry for IPv4/IPv6 packets with a
particular transmission control protocol (TCP) destination port
could contain an action specifying that these packets should be
dropped.
[0096] Making forwarding decisions and performing actions occurs,
based upon the forwarding table entry identified during packet
classification, by executing the set of actions identified in the
matched forwarding table entry on the packet.
[0097] However, when an unknown packet (for example, a "missed
packet" or a "match-miss" as used in OpenFlow parlance) arrives at
the data plane 580, the packet (or a subset of the packet header
and content) is typically forwarded to the centralized control
plane 576. The centralized control plane 576 will then program
forwarding table entries into the data plane 580 to accommodate
packets belonging to the flow of the unknown packet. Once a
specific forwarding table entry has been programmed into the data
plane 580 by the centralized control plane 576, the next packet
with matching credentials will match that forwarding table entry
and take the set of actions associated with that matched entry.
[0098] A network interface (NI) may be physical or virtual; and in
the context of IP, an interface address is an IP address assigned
to a NI, be it a physical NI or virtual NI. A virtual NI may be
associated with a physical NI, with another virtual interface, or
stand on its own (e.g., a loopback interface, a point-to-point
protocol interface). A NI (physical or virtual) may be numbered (a
NI with an IP address) or unnumbered (a NI without an IP address).
A loopback interface (and its loopback address) is a specific type
of virtual NI (and IP address) of a NE/VNE (physical or virtual)
often used for management purposes; where such an IP address is
referred to as the nodal loopback address. The IP address(es)
assigned to the NI(s) of a ND are referred to as IP addresses of
that ND; at a more granular level, the IP address(es) assigned to
NI(s) assigned to a NE/VNE implemented on a ND can be referred to
as IP addresses of that NE/VNE.
[0099] A Layer 3 (L3) Link Aggregation (LAG) link is a link
directly connecting two NDs with multiple IP-addressed link paths
(each link path is assigned a different IP address), and a load
distribution decision across these different link paths is
performed at the ND forwarding plane; in which case, a load
distribution decision is made between the link paths.
[0100] Some NDs include functionality for authentication,
authorization, and accounting (AAA) protocols (e.g., RADIUS (Remote
Authentication Dial-In User Service), Diameter, and/or TACACS+
(Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus). AAA can be
provided through a client/server model, where the AAA client is
implemented on a ND and the AAA server can be implemented either
locally on the ND or on a remote electronic device coupled with the
ND. Authentication is the process of identifying and verifying a
subscriber. For instance, a subscriber might be identified by a
combination of a username and a password or through a unique key.
Authorization determines what a subscriber can do after being
authenticated, such as gaining access to certain electronic device
information resources (e.g., through the use of access control
policies). Accounting is recording user activity. By way of a
summary example, end user devices may be coupled (e.g., through an
access network) through an edge ND (supporting AAA processing)
coupled to core NDs coupled to electronic devices implementing
servers of service/content providers. AAA processing is performed
to identify for a subscriber the subscriber record stored in the
AAA server for that subscriber. A subscriber record includes a set
of attributes (e.g., subscriber name, password, authentication
information, access control information, rate-limiting information,
policing information) used during processing of that subscriber's
traffic.
[0101] Certain NDs (e.g., certain edge NDs) internally represent
end user devices (or sometimes customer premise equipment (CPE)
such as a residential gateway (e.g., a router, modem)) using
subscriber circuits. A subscriber circuit uniquely identifies
within the ND a subscriber session and typically exists for the
lifetime of the session. Thus, a ND typically allocates a
subscriber circuit when the subscriber connects to that ND, and
correspondingly de-allocates that subscriber circuit when that
subscriber disconnects. Each subscriber session represents a
distinguishable flow of packets communicated between the ND and an
end user device (or sometimes CPE such as a residential gateway or
modem) using a protocol, such as the point-to-point protocol over
another protocol (PPPoX) (e.g., where X is Ethernet or Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM)), Ethernet, 802.1 Q Virtual LAN (VLAN),
Internet Protocol, or ATM). A subscriber session can be initiated
using a variety of mechanisms (e.g., manual provisioning a dynamic
host configuration protocol (DHCP), DHCP/client-less internet
protocol service (CLIPS) or Media Access Control (MAC) address
tracking). For example, the point-to-point protocol (PPP) is
commonly used for digital subscriber line (DSL) services and
requires installation of a PPP client that enables the subscriber
to enter a username and a password, which in turn may be used to
select a subscriber record. When DHCP is used (e.g., for cable
modem services), a username typically is not provided; but in such
situations other information (e.g., information that includes the
MAC address of the hardware in the end user device (or CPE)) is
provided. The use of DHCP and CLIPS on the ND captures the MAC
addresses and uses these addresses to distinguish subscribers and
access their subscriber records.
[0102] Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have
been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations
of transactions on data bits within a computer memory. These
algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by
those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively
convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An
algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent
sequence of transactions leading to a desired result. The
transactions are those requiring physical manipulations of physical
quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take
the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has
proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common
usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,
symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
[0103] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the
description, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing" or
"computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" or
the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system,
or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and
transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities
within the computer system's registers and memories into other data
similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer
system memories or registers or other such information storage,
transmission or display devices.
[0104] The algorithms and displays presented herein are not
inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus.
Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in
accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to
construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method
transactions. The required structure for a variety of these systems
will appear from the description above. In addition, embodiments of
the present invention are not described with reference to any
particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a
variety of programming languages may be used to implement the
teachings of embodiments of the invention as described herein.
[0105] In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention
have been described with reference to specific exemplary
embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications
may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and
scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. The
specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an
illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.
[0106] Throughout the description, embodiments of the present
invention have been presented through flow diagrams. It will be
appreciated that the order of transactions and transactions
described in these flow diagrams are only intended for illustrative
purposes and not intended as a limitation of the present invention.
One having ordinary skill in the art would recognize that
variations can be made to the flow diagrams without departing from
the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the
following claims.
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